Top News:
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Johnny is on the spot — In the end, we want to be entertained, don't we? — Who knows whether the Red Sox will catch the Rays for the wild-card spot? But for a few hours yesterday there was some excitement among the players, the media, and the fans. The Tigers put outfielder Johnny Damon …
Discussion:
USA Today, lenNY's Yankees, Boston Dirt Dogs, The Detroit Tiger Weblog, Associated Press and NESN.com
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Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Catcher improved, mystified — Saltalamacchia still seeks answers — Jarrod Saltalamacchia was back in the Red Sox clubhouse yesterday and looked to be in good health. But the infection that put him in Massachusetts General Hospital for four days was an unsettling experience.
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Johnny Damon's Decision
Discussion:
Full Count, BronxBanterBlog.com and ESPN
TSN.ca:
Scutaro drives in four as Red Sox down Mariners
Discussion:
Surviving Grady, Over the Monster, Yahoo! Sports and baseballmusings.com
Jason Beck / MLB.com:
Damon leaning toward staying in Detroit
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
BoSox make waiver claim on Damon
Discussion:
Bless You Boys, The Joy of Sox, MLB Rumors, Boston Globe, Red Sox Monster, New York Times and Lookout Landing
Fox Sports:
Source: White Sox to claim Manny — Manny Ramirez has been on the disabled list three times this season. — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — Manny Ramirez will not get through waivers.
Discussion:
PRO Rumors, SBNation.com, NESN.com and Chicago Breaking Sports
RELATED:
Fox Sports:
Ramirez is too big a gamble now — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — Claiming Manny Ramirez off waivers would be nuts. Trading for him — even if the Dodgers covered …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
White Sox Will Claim Manny Ramirez — The White Sox will claim Manny Ramirez with the intention of acquiring him once he's placed on waivers by the Dodgers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that GM Kenny Williams is pushing all his chips on getting Ramirez, according to an MLB source.
Discussion:
Mike Scioscia's tragic illness and NESN.com
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Sources: Manny Ramirez of Los Angeles Dodgers likely to hit waivers this week
Discussion:
MLB, Associated Press, NESN.com, SBNation.com, PRO Rumors, Boston Globe and MLB Rumors
Globe and Mail:
Robert MacLeod — TORONTO — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail — Several hours before Monday's series opener against the New York Yankees, Jose Bautista went about his business in the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse - a routine that included some playful banter in Spanish with teammate Yunel Escobar …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, Walkoff Walk, Deadspin, FanGraphs Baseball, Lookout Landing and My Pinstripes
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John Smallwood / Philly.com:
Umpires should explain botched call — OK, WE'RE NOT going to revisit the ghost of Chico Ruiz. — This isn't 1964 and there are no indications that these Phillies are the type of team to let one setback mushroom into a pennant-crushing collapse. — In fact, the entire modus operandi …
Discussion:
USA Today, Halos Heaven and baseballmusings.com
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Dan Steinberg / D.C. Sports Bog:
Rob Dibble to Stephen Strasburg: “Suck it up” — The conventional wisdom on Stephen Strasburg's latest injury, whatever it is, was nicely summed up by Thomas Boswell on Monday: … For the unconventional wisdom, look no further than Rob Dibble, analyst for MASN by night, and radio host for SIRIUS XM's MLB Network Radio by day.
RELATED:
Josh Alper / Fanhouse MLB Blog:
Rob Dibble Thinks Stephen Strasburg Should ‘Suck It Up’
Discussion:
Federal Baseball, D.C. Sports Bog and Nationals Journal
Steve Popper / NorthJersey.com:
Mets seek balance in youth movement — PITTSBURGH - David Wright stood in front of his locker in the middle of the visitors' clubhouse at PNC Park and he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing around him. — Rod Barajas, who had been a part of his circle of friends hanging out all season long …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
RELATED:
David Waldstein / New York Times:
For Mets, Wild Card Is, Who Stays?
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com and New York Mets Fan Blog
TSN.ca:
Giants blast Reds — Sports Network — San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Matt Cain pitched eight solid innings, while Aubrey Huff and Pablo Sandoval each registered three runs batted in, as San Francisco blasted Cincinnati, 11-2, in the first of three games from AT&T Park.
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles
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Janie McCauley / Associated Press:
Giants beat Reds to open key series of contenders
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Fox Sports:
Brewers may have missed out on Fielder — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — The Brewers will not have an easy time trading first baseman Prince Fielder this offseason.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and PRO Rumors
Steve Batterson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Ozzie Smith wants to be more involved — DAVENPORT, Iowa — Standing at home plate at Modern Woodmen Park, there was only one place Ozzie Smith would have been more comfortable Sunday afternoon. — But there was no podium in the dirt between second base and third where Smith …
Associated Press:
Bud Selig statue to be unveiled Tuesday — MILWAUKEE (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's statue will soon join the likenesses of Hank Aaron and Robin Yount in front of Miller Park. — The Milwaukee Brewers are unveiling the bronze statue in a ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the stadium's Home Plate Plaza.
Discussion:
Walkoff Walk, Lone Star Ball and IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR, IT IS
MLB.com:
Statement from the Family of George M. Steinbrenner III — RE: Details of Unveiling of Monument Park Tribute to George M. Steinbrenner — “We remain profoundly grateful and touched by the many expressions of sympathy and support from so many. We wish to thank everyone for their kind thoughts …
Discussion:
Bats
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Don't forget, Rocket soared before the fall — Let me tell you the story of Clementine. — Clementine is a 6-foot-tall white teddy bear that sits in a shed behind my house. Clementine is 16 years old and a little worn around the edges. The big bear is dirty, moth-ridden …
